Long Jump Injury Throws a Scare Into Joyner-Kersee

Prospects for winning the heptathlon looked brighter to Jackie Joyner-Kersee Monday morning, 12 hours after she feared she had suffered a serious injury in defending her long jump title at track and field’s World Championships.

In Sunday night’s final at the National Stadium, Joyner-Kersee all but put the competition out of reach with an opening jump of 24 feet one-quarter inch.

But instead of passing in the final five rounds to rest for Monday’s start of the heptathlon, she tried to keep the pressure on her opponents. In the fourth round, she overshot the Plasticine take-off board, twisting her right ankle so badly that her foot was turned parallel to the board.

“I thought my career was over,” she said. “I really thought my ankle was broken.”

But after receiving treatment, she chose to attempt her jump in the final round, reaching 23-4. That would have been good enough for a third-place tie if she had not already won. Germany’s Heike Drechsler finished second at 23-11.

Doctors were unable to determine the nature of the injury because Joyner-Kersee complained of pain from her ankle to her knee. Still, she lined up for the beginning of the heptathlon and was leading after the first two events, the 100-meter high hurdles and the high jump.